Tees Valley Sport

Looking to strengthen your work with communities?

Leading the Movement is a free learning platform from Sport England, packed with practical resources to help organisations create healthier, more active and more connected communities.

Whether you're part of a community organisation, sports club, charity, local authority or health service, you'll find learning and tools covering topics such as:

🤝 Building strong partnerships

🏘️ Place-based working

📊 Using insight and evidence

💡 Tackling inequalities

🌱 Leadership and professional development

The resources are designed to help turn ideas into action, with practical guidance, stories and examples that you can apply in your own work.

If you're looking for inspiration or new ways of working with your community, it's well worth exploring.

🌐 https://www.leadingthemovement.org/

Need local data to support a funding bid, project or report?

Tees Valley Sport provides partners with free access to Local Insight – an online platform that brings together a wide range of local data in one place.

Whether you're looking to better understand your community, identify local need or strengthen an application, Local Insight can help by providing easy access to information on topics including:

📊 Population and demographics
❤️ Health and wellbeing
🏘️ Deprivation and wider inequalities
📍 Neighbourhood profiles
📈 Interactive maps and reports

The platform is designed to make local data easy to find and use, helping you spend less time searching and more time planning and delivering services that meet local needs.

If you're one of our partners, you can access it here:

🌐 https://teesvalleysportpartners.localinsight.org/

Not sure how to get the most from it? Get in touch with the Tees Valley Sport team and we'll be happy to help.

Looking for ideas to make your organisation more environmentally sustainable?

Whether you're developing a sustainability plan, looking for practical ideas, or simply interested in what other communities are doing, Carbon Copy is a great free resource.

It brings together inspiring examples of local climate action from across the UK, helping organisations learn from projects that are already making a difference. From community initiatives and active travel to green spaces and nature projects, there are plenty of ideas that can be adapted locally.

You'll also find:
🌱 Community case studies
📊 Local climate data and council action plans
🎙️ Podcasts and blogs
💡 Practical actions that communities and organisations can take

As environmental sustainability becomes an increasing priority for organisations, it's useful to have somewhere that shares practical ideas and examples of what works.

Take a look:
🌐 https://carboncopy.eco/

Thanks to Carbon Copy for making these resources freely available.

ost should never be a barrier to taking part.

The Government has announced new measures to reduce the cost of school uniforms, including limits on the number of branded uniform and PE kit items schools can require.

It's a positive step that recognises something many schools, families and organisations already know – the cost of clothing and equipment can affect whether children feel able to take part.

Through our work with partners across the Tees Valley, we've heard how practical barriers like PE kit costs can impact confidence and participation, particularly for families already facing financial pressures.

Creating opportunities for children to be active isn't just about providing activities. It's also about making sure those opportunities are accessible to everyone.

You can read more about the announcement here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-cut-costs-for-parents-ahead-of-new-school-year

The first five years of a child's life are incredibly important for their physical development.

New research from the Association for Physical Education (afPE) highlights how early movement experiences help children develop the confidence, coordination and skills that support learning, wellbeing and lifelong physical activity.

The evidence also highlights concerns that many children are starting school with lower levels of motor competence, reinforcing the importance of giving every child the opportunity to move, play and develop from an early age.

This research has helped inform work taking place across the Tees Valley to support physical development in the early years and improve school readiness.

If you work in early years, education, health or physical activity, it's well worth a read.

📖 Explore the research here:
https://www.afpe.org.uk/physical-development/

Research and position paper developed by the Association for Physical Education (afPE), written by Dr Vanessa King and Dr Kristy Howells.

Community sport is about much more than sport.

A recent UK Parliament report highlights the vital role that community sports clubs play in supporting healthier, stronger communities. It also reinforces the importance of connecting clubs with schools, local authorities, health organisations and voluntary groups to help more people be active throughout their lives.

At Tees Valley Sport, that's exactly what we're working towards through our place-based approach – bringing organisations together so communities have better opportunities to be active.

If you're involved in a local sports club, community organisation or partnership, it's well worth a read.

📖 Read the report here:
https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5902/cmselect/cmcumeds/462/report.html

Image courtesy of Sport England.

🚴 Ready to get back on your bike?

If you've been thinking about cycling but aren't sure where to start, Sofa to Saddle could be just what you need.

Created by British Cycling and Lloyds Bank, this free app takes you through an easy-to-follow, eight-step journey to help you build confidence, develop healthy habits and enjoy the benefits of cycling. There is no pressure, no expensive equipment needed and you can even borrow or hire a bike to get started.

Whether you're looking to improve your wellbeing, spend more time outdoors or simply try something new, Sofa to Saddle is designed to fit around everyday life.

Find out more and download the app today.

If you're a local organisation, workplace or community group, you can also help others discover the campaign by sharing the official toolkit:
🔗 https://britishcyc.cc/m/sofatosaddle

Insight in action: Strengthening online safeguarding through shared learning

Being insight-led means learning from others as well as from our own work.

Through the Lead Safeguarding Officers Forum, facilitated by the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit and the Ann Craft Trust, we learned about Report Remove, a free tool developed by Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation. The tool helps young people report intimate images that have been shared online and, where possible, have them removed, while providing support throughout the process.

This learning highlighted the growing importance of online safeguarding and the need for organisations to promote trusted reporting pathways. National data reflects the increasing demand for support. In 2024, 1,142 reports were submitted through Report Remove, representing a 44% increase on the previous year. In 2025, this rose to 1,894 reports, a further 60% increase.

As a result, we reviewed the safeguarding information available through our website and strengthened our Keeping Safe Online guidance by adding information about Report Remove alongside other trusted online safety resources. This helps clubs, community organisations, parents and young people access practical guidance and recognised reporting pathways when they need them most.

You can explore our Keeping Safe Online guidance here:
https://www.teesvalleysport.co.uk/safeguarding/keeping-safe-online/

This work supports our commitment to creating safer environments for children and young people and reflects our ongoing commitment to Principle 2 of the Sport England Code for Sports Governance.

For us, being insight-led means continually learning from national partners, recognising emerging issues and ensuring the guidance and resources we provide remain relevant, practical and responsive to the needs of our communities.

Keeping Safe Online - Tees Valley Sport Websites, social media channels and all forms of online communication, should have safeguards in place to help to keep your young members and staff safe from harm. What online safety means for sports Using websites and social media platforms to promote your sport or organisation can have many benefi...

Insight in action: Putting community voices at the heart of decision making

Being insight-led means making decisions based on what communities tell us, not on what we assume they need.

As part of the development phase for the Hartlepool Place Partnership, Tees Valley Sport facilitated a partnership workshop that brought together organisations from across Hartlepool to explore the insight gathered from residents, community organisations and local partners.

Representatives from the VCSE sector, Hartlepool Borough Council, Public Health, Primary Care Networks, StreetGames, Youth Sport Trust, Hartlepool Community Trust, Hartlepool Opportunities Partnership (HOP), Pool Together and many other organisations worked together to review the evidence and identify what it was telling us about physical activity in Hartlepool.

Community insight was at the heart of the discussion. Alongside the experiences shared by residents and local organisations, partners considered local strategies, asset mapping, learning from delivery, Sport England's Active Lives data and StreetGames' 1,000 Voices research to build a shared understanding of the barriers and opportunities across the town.

The workshop wasn't about arriving with ready-made solutions. It was about bringing together different perspectives, learning from one another and using that collective insight to help shape the priorities for the next phase of the partnership's work.

One thing became clear throughout the day. Hartlepool has a strong network of community organisations, local leaders and residents who are already making a positive difference. The role of the partnership is to build on those strengths by continuing to work collaboratively, listen to communities and ensure that future decisions are informed by local experience.

As a partner within the Hartlepool Place Partnership, Tees Valley Sport is proud to support an approach that keeps co-production, collaboration and community insight at the centre of decision making.